Gunilla SüssmannPiano

Biography

Gunilla Süssmann was born in 1977 in Bergen, Norway, and started to play the piano at the age of six. Twice she has won the 1st prize in the National Piano competition for Youth in Norway (1987 and 1995), and in 1996 she was finalist in the EBU-competition in Lisbon, Portugal. September 2000 she won 3rd prize in Concours Grieg, and received the special prize for best Grieg interpretation. Gunilla Süssmann won the status as "Intro Musician 2001-03" by the Norwegian Concert Institute (Rikskonsertene), and in May 2002 she was awarded the Robert Levin Festival Prize after her recital debut at the Bergen International Festival.

Gunilla Süssmann graduated from the Norwegian State Academy of Music in 2000, where she studied with Professor Einar Steen-Nökleberg. As well as taking part in Hans Leygraf¹s master-courses in München and Darmstadt, she continued her studies with Professor Steen-Nökleberg, and will finish her soloist diploma from the Music Academy in Hanover during 2003.

For Naxos she recorded Geirr Tveitt¹s Concerto for two pianos and orchestra together with pianist Havard Gimse and the Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bjarte Engeseth. The recording received internationally acclaime, and was elected Editor¹s Choice in Gramophone, October 2002.

Gunilla Süssmann has been playing with musicians like Martin Fröst, Lars Anders Tomter, the Vertavo String Quartet, and been given major exposures at the Bergen International Festival, Leif Over Andsnes¹ Risör Chamber Music Festival, Saxon-Bohemian Music Festival, etc.

Solo-recitals throughout Norway as well as in Stockholm, Salzburg, Darmstadt, Berlin, Hanover, Krakow and Belgrade and performances with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Portugal Radio-Orchestra, Swedish SAMI Sinfonietta and North Bohemian Philharmonic, have all furthered expectations on behalf of this exciting young artist.

The year 2003 include Grieg¹s a-minor concerto with Santiago de Chile¹s Symphonic Orchestra, and Messiaen¹s Oiseaux Exotique with the Bergen Philharmonic. Gunilla Süssmann will tour Scandinavia and the Baltics with cellist Ernst Simon Glaser, and play trio with Tanja Tetzlaff and Martin Fröst at the Duisburg and Bergen festivals. Further performances include recitals both in Norway, Germany and Chile.